Suction cleaner



May 19, 1942. H B, WHITE 2,283,836

sUcTIoN CLEANER f 'v Filled Deo. 7, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l H. B. WHITE SUCTION CLEANER May 19, 1942.

Filed Dec. '7, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,INVENTOR Harry While Maywifmz.

H. B. WHITE SUCTION CLEANER Filed Dec. '7, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 N V E N TO R Harry Wlze ATTQRNEY Patented May 19, y1942 SUCTION CLEANERy Harry B. White,`Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 7, 1940, Serial No. 369,051

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in suction cleaners and more particularly to improved means for continuously packing or compressing the dirt and litter removed from the incoming dirt-laden air stream into a removable receptacle adapted to be emptied from time to time.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an emcient compacting mechanism occupying a comparatively small space within the body of the cleaner and consisting of a plurality of reciprocating fingers divided into groups moving in opposite directions and driven from the'cleaner motor.

aThe accompanying drawings show the application of a motor-driven dirt compacting unit `to a suction cleaner of the so-called tank type with some alterations in the dirt ltering and handling portions thereof. However, it 'should be pointed out that the novel features of the presentl disclosure need not be limited to their application to or incorporation in any particular type of suction cleaner. Thus:

Figure 1 is a general View in longitudinal vertical section through a suction cleaner equipped with the improved dirt compacting mechanism; Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section through the lower portion of the cleaner as taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1 and showing the compacting mechanism in top plan View;

Figure 3 is a View in vertical crossv sectio taken on line 3--3 of Figure 1, showing the compacting mechanism in end elevation; and

Figure 4 is a view in vertical cross section taken on line 4--4 of Figure 1 and adjacent the inlet end of the cleaner and showing the arrangement of the dirt ltering means. In common with numerous makes of suctio cleaners of the same vgeneral type, the cleaner hereing disclosed comprises generally an elongated Inetal outer casing I resting on feet Ia located at the four corners and having a length exceedingits width several times. The casing has a semi-cylindric contour throughoutits vupper portion with vertical end and side walls. At one end of the casing I (at the left in Figure 1) is an inlet opening 2 adapted to receive the one end of a hose connected with the lcleaning tools, and at the opposite end there is a corresponding outlet port 3 through which the clean air is discharged.

Mounted within the casing I and somewhat nearer the discharge or outlet end thereof is the suction-creating unit consisting of an electric motor 4 having direct driving connection with a fan 5, preferably of the multi-stage type. As

(Cl. 18S-'38) clearly shown in Figure l, the motor and fan rotate about acommon horizontal axis with the fanon the side of the motor toward the inlet end Qffthe casing I. To complete the unit, the motor .and fan are supported within a cylindric shell 6 supported within the main casing I, and forming the fan chamber as well as an annular passageway around the motor for discharging the air from the fan chamber and into the space leading to the discharge port 3.'

.In the space immediately forward of the motor and fan .unit is the lter chamber 8 occupying approximately one-halthe length of the cleaner casing andcontaining a'iiltering unit or element 9 ,preferably made of a porous fabric through which air can pass but not the dirt particles. Ordinarily in vcleaners of this'Y type, the filter member is a cylindrical shaped bag suitably supportedin the filter chamber and communicating at its forward end directly with the inletport 2, so that the suction created by the fan 5 draws the dirt-laden air in through the hoseconnected at the inlet port 2, the same filtered and the clean air conducted through the fan 5 and thence discharged-through the outlet port 3. However, the present dirt filtering and handling arrange- Y ment: differs in that the filtering member 9 is not removed except for complete renovating or renewal, but instead the separated dirt is allowed to accumulate upon an inclined plate IIJ extending the full width of the filter chamber and rearwardly and downwardly from a point just below Vor compartment is furtherdivided into two sec- Ytions by means of a vertical partition wall I3 locatedv immediately below the fan 5. The portion I4 of this compartment forwardly of the transverse dividing wall I3, that is, in the direction of the inlet end of then cleaner casing, communicates with the space .enclosed by the filter .member 9 and theinclined wall Ill through-the opening II.

Now, located in the space immediately below the dirt discharge opening II is a group of vertically arranged blade-like members I5 carried at the ends of horizontal rods I6 extending rearwardly through the dividing wallv I3 and connected at their rearmost ends to an arrangement of cross heads and connecting rods presently to be described in greater detail. As clearly shown in Figure 2, these blade-like compacting elements I5 are arranged transversely of the dirt disposal compartment Il and spaced apart at equal intervals with their supporting rods I5 in parallel relation. Moreover, each alternate compacting element constitutes one of a set of three which move together as a unit, one set moving forwardly while the other set is being retracted, and vice versa.

Also located in the forward compartment Il is a drawer-like dirt receptacle I1 adapted to slide in and out through an opening extending the full width of the forward end wall as clearly shown in Figure 4. This sliding receptacle, however, differs from a drawer in that it is closed on its top side but completely open at its inner end, the result being that when the drawer or receptacle is in place, the inner end portion of its bottom wall I'Ia slides beneath the path of the ref ciprocating compacting elements I5 so that the latter are in reality operating back and forth in the entrance to the dirt receptacle.

Thus, assuming that the two sets of compacting lingers are continuously moving back and forth while the cleaner is in operation, it is not dimcult to visualize the manner in which the dirt is disposed of after it has been separated from the air and accumulates on the inclined plate I0. The dirt works downwardly along the smooth surface of the plate I0 and eventually fall.; through the discharge opening II into the space just in front .of the entrance to the dirt receptacle I'I and thence worked forwardly and compressed in the receptacle by the action of the reciprocating compacting members. In time, the receptacle becomes lled with a tightly compact mass of dirt and litter and then it is necessary to remove and empty it. Y

However, in order to hold the receptacle securely in place whileit is being filled to its normal capacity, one or more leaf springs I8 are riveted to horizontal brackets I8a welded or otherwise secured to the side walls of the outer casing I, these leaf springs forming resilient detents adapted to engage rounded projections I9 mounted on the top wall of the receptacle andpositioned to engage the spring detents beyond the bowed portions thereof so that they act normally' to prevent the receptacle from sliding open under the compressing action. However, should the operator neglect to remove the receptacle for emptying when lled, the forcing of an excessive amount of dirt into the receptacle will overcome the retaining action of the spring detents and the receptacle will be forced outwardly as a signal that it should be emptied.

Now, the description of the movement imparted to the compacting elements may be simplified by considering only two of the reciprocating bars I5 both having the same length of stroke but with the strokes staggered, that is, one bar starts its forward stroke just as the other is starting its return stroke and vice versa, or, considering each stroke as a, complete cycle, the position and direction of movement of one bar is removed just 180 degrees from that of the other. And finally, by multiplying each of the reciprocating bars by three and arranging those of each set alternately, the resulting action is a continual backward and forward feeding movement of the compacting elements I5 at the entrance to the dirtreceptacle I l.

azesase As previously suggested, the reciprocating rods or bars I6 constituting each set of three moving together as a unit, are connected by a cross head 20, located inwardly from the rearmost ends of the bars and which consists simply of a metal strap to which the rods of each set are suitably clamped. Bearings for slidably supporting the reciprocating bars I6 are provided at points spaced apart lengthwise of said bars, the forward bearing being formed by the vertical partition wall I3 separating the forward dirt handling compartment from the space occupied by the compactor driving mechanism. A suitable packing gland 2| is provided through whichthe rods I6 extend and which is intended to prevent the passage of dirt particles rearwardly through the barrier wall I3. The rear bearing for the slide bars is located rearwardly of wall I3 and consists of a horizontally divided two part bar 22 elevated above the bottom wall of the compartment upon upright end brackets 22a, 22a, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The contacting faces of the split bar 22 are recessed to form bearings which slidably support the several bars I5.

At the extreme rear end of the compactor drive compartment is a base plate 23 riveted to the bottom wall of the compartment and supporting a pair of intermeshing companion spur gears 24, 24 of the same size. These spur gears are journalled upon vertical stub shafts anchored in the base plate 23, and rigidly fixed to the upper face of each of these spur gears is a crank arm 24a, 2lb of a length substantially equal to the radius oi' the gears. However,` it will be noted that these crank arms 24a, 2lb are spaced angularly apart with respect to each other at an angle of 180 degrees, as clearly appears from Figure 2. And finally, the crank arms 24a, 2lb are connected with the cross heads 20, 20 by means of connecting rods 25, 25, the lowermost connecting rod, as shown in Figure 2, extending forwardly beneath the bearing bar 22 and pivotally connected with the near-cross head 20 centrally of its undersurface, whereas the other connecting rod 25, that is, the one that appears uppermost in Figure 2, extends forwardly just above the bearing 22 and is attached to the forwardly disposed cross head 20 centrally of its upper surface. 'Ihis vertical spacing of the connecting rods 25, 25 below and above the bearing 22 is accomplished by providing the crank' arm 24h, associated with the upwardly disposed connecting rod, with a vertically offset portion which elevates its point of pivotal connection with the connecting rod well above the bearing bar 22, as clearly shown in Figure 3. v

Now, assuming that the spur gears are driven at a uniform speed of rotation, it is apparent j dirt receptacle I'I.

plate. At the lower end of the shaft 26 is a driving pinion 28 meshing with one of the spur gears 24, namely. the lowermost spur gear as shown in Figure 2. At the upper end of the drive shaft 26 is fixed a worm gear 29 which in turn meshes with a Worm 30 carried on an intermediate drive shaft 3| arranged horizontally and journalled at its opposite ends in bearings 32 and 33, the former forming an integral part of the bearing standard 21, the latter being a separate standard bearing on the base plate 23. The worm shaft 3l carries a pulley 34 located in a vertical plane adjacent the rearmost end of the motor 4 Vbut offset below and to one side of the motor axis, as clearly shown in Figure 3. This pulley 34 has driving connection with the motor through a belt 35 carried upon a small pulley 3E mounted upon the extended end of the motor armature shaft.

Thus, the drive from the motor to the inter- Ineshing spur gears 24, 24 of the compacting mechanism is accompanied by a considerable reduction in speed brought about successively by the increased size of the driven pulley 34 and the worm gearing between the horizontal drive shaft 3l to the vertical drive shaft 26. In this way, the ultimate reciprocating movement of the compacting elem ent is uniform in both directions but relatively slow so that the dirt is packed into the receptacle I1 as it. drops through the discharge opening Il from the filter chamber.

As previously stated, it is necessary to remove and empty the receptacle from time to time, but since the dirt and litter is tightly compressed within the receptacle, it follows that a considerable quantity can be packed before it has to be emptied and consequently, the intervals between emptyings of the receptacle will be considerably longer than those between emptyings of the lter bag in cleaners not provided with dirt compactthe ordinary dirt bag is shaken to remove its contents.

Having set forth a preferred embodiment 0f the invention togetherwith the principal advantages to be derived therefrom, I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a.:

casing housing suction-creating means including a motor, a dirt-collecting chamber and a separate compartment beneath said chamber and communicating therewith through an opening at the bottom of said chamber, a plurality of reciprocating compacting elements mounted in said compartment below said discharge opening and operative to feed the dirt delivered therethrough into a portion of said compartment beyond, and

mechanism for driving said reciprocating elements from said motor.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing housing suction-creating means including a motor, a dirt collecting chamber, a separate compartment beneath said chamber and communicating therewith through an opening at the bottom thereof, a reciprocating compacting element mounted in said compartment and operating within the space beneath said discharge opening, a removable receptacle opening toward the vpath of movement of said compacting element,

and mechanism for driving said compacting element from said motor.

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing, motor and fan unit mounted in said casing, a portion of said casing forming a dirt chamber having inlet and discharge openings, a separate compartment beneath said chamber and communicating therewith through said discharge opening, a plurality of slide rods mounted for endwise reciprocating movement lengthwise of said compartment and having dirt compacting end portions, a removable receptacle fitting into said compartment having an open end facing toward the path of movement of said reciprocating rods, and mechanism driven by said motor for imparting a predetermined reciprocating movement to said rods.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing, motor and fan unit mounted in said casing, a portion of said casing forming a dirt chamber having inletA and discharge openings together with a separate compartment beneath said chamv ber and communicating therewith through a discharge opening, a plurality of parallel reciprocating rods with compacting elements at their ends and operating within said compartment, the latter having a dirt receiving receptacle opening toward the path of movement of said reciprocating compacting elements, and mechanism driven by said motor and operative to impart a reciprocating movement to said rods whereby each alternate compacting element travels in a cycle spaced from that of the adjacent element.-

5. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a main casing, a motor and fan unit mounted in said casing, one end portion of said casing forming a dirt-collecting chamber, a separate compartment extending lengthwise of the bottom of said casing beneath said motor and dirt-co1- lecting chamber and communicating with the latter through a discharge opening at the bottom of said chamber, two series of alternately arranged compacting members mounted in said compartment beneath said discharge opening, a removable receptacle having an open end facing the space occupied by said compacting element and into which the dirt discharged through said opening is fed, and mechanism driven by said motor to reciprocate the compacting members of each series in cycles spaced apart 180.

HARRY B. WHITE. 

